Few things make the indoors less delightful than harsh, overhead light. The cold months combined with the raging pandemic spell more time than ever in our homes and making them cozier and more relaxing can be as easy as flipping a switch. If you’re in a room with multiple types of light right now, try it: turn on the overhead light and take a look around. Then turn it off and light a wall sconce, table lamp, floor lamp, or some candles. Compare how your kitchen feels when lit only by overhead light with the vibe of using under-counter lighting, if you have it. The mood of the space will change in an instant.
“We have a circadian rhythm regulation where at night we should minimize our exposure to blue light,” Clanton explains. As bluer light naturally disappears toward nightfall, our brains begin to produce melatonin, which is critical for quality, restful sleep. Night mode on our electronics is designed to eliminate the cold, blue light that keeps the brain awake and alert. But this digital help is useless if the lightbulbs in our home are emitting the light that will keep us awake. Clanton adds that if we have outdoor lighting we should extend the same care to the natural world as we do to ourselves—never have lighting pointing to the open sky and turn it off when not in use to give animals and plants the darkness they too need to thrive.
